Laid-off Weyerhaeuser workers search for answers

Six months after Weyerhaeuser announced it would shutter two of its three Montana mills, federal assistance programs have begun to filter into the Flathead Valley. But nearly half of the workers facing layoffs may not be eligible for the new benefits, according to Flathead Job Service.

Last week, the Department of Labor announced laid-off Weyerhaeuser employees may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance. The program offers support in training, job search and relocation to wood-production workers who lost their job due to international competition.

Weyerhaeuser announced in June it was closing its lumber and plywood mills. As a result, 240 jobs are set to leave Columbia Falls. Some of those jobs have moved to positions at other mills, but 72 mill positions and another 100 administrative jobs will disappear with the closure.

Flathead Job Service Manager Laura Gardner said this is the first time Flathead Valley workers have qualified for the federal assistance program since the 2008 recession.

But, she said it’s not clear if the 100 Weyerhaeuser administrative employees set to lose their job can tap into the help.

“When we applied for the assistance, we included workers in the sawmill, plywood and administrative office,” Gardner said.

When the department approved the application, the wording “administrative office” was missing from the petition. Gardner said the local office is still trying to figure out whether the 100 employees qualify for the program.

“Those are things we have to work out with Washington, D.C.,” she said. “If they say no, that admin is not covered, then I will submit another petition just for the administrative office workers.”

She said further complicating the issue, Flathead Job Service still doesn’t know who those 100 workers are.

“Weyerhaeuser has given us a list of laid-off mill workers ... but they haven’t done that with the administration offices, and knowing who those workers are is an important step in connecting them to resources,” she said.

Weyerhaeuser did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.

TUESDAY MORNING, more than 80 former and current Weyerhaeuser employees attended a Job Service workshop at Flathead Valley Community College to learn about their possible next steps and how to use the trade assistance program.

Audience member Tanna Friske said she’s worked at Weyerhaeuser in the administrative offices known as the Cedar Palace for “32 years and three months.”

Friske said she was concerned she would lose her job when the Seattle-based timber company took over the Plum Creek Timber Co. site nearly a year ago. Now that it’s happened, she said she’s felt lost on what to do next.

“I’m curious why the unemployment people didn’t come into the main Cedar Palace?” Friske asked Gardner.

“Weyerhaeuser would not let us in,” Gardner responded. “Weyerhaeuser would not give us your information. Weyerhaeuser would not give us layoff lists with your name and address so we could invite you to anything. We were blocked, we tried everything we could to get there.”

Gardner said since administrative workers dealt with Weyerhaeuser matters throughout the United States, the final decision on whether Flathead Job Service could reach out to the employees fell to the company’s human resource department in Seattle.

Friske said since her role at Weyerhaeuser ended Nov. 1, she’s felt alone as she’s worked through unemployment packages and began looking for a new job.

“There were some meetings on how to handle this, but only at the mill level,” she said after the meeting. “For us in Cedar Palace, there was a severance pay notification, the termination letter … Basically, any information we’ve needed, we’ve had to try and find out the answers.”

GARDNER WALKED through the benefits laid-off workers could use through the Trade Adjustment Assistance. She also outlined the deadlines before workers are cut off from assistance.

Gardner said she hopes to hear within the next week whether the administrative employees can enroll in the program. Until then, she said it’s important for the workers to understand what the program offers so they’re prepared.

As she finished the workshop Tuesday, some of the workers waited in line to begin signing up for the assistance. Others chatted with college staff and walked away with orange FVCC degree and certificate packets.

Friske said for now, she and other administrative workers have to wait to join those lines.

“I’m really disgruntled we weren’t given the same information and accessibility to the unemployment service coming in, and I’m not sure what else we were left out of,” she said. “I guess my big question is why?”

Gardner said as Job Services continues to collect contact information from administrative workers, her office will begin to plan workshops tailored to those employees.

For more information about assistance or the upcoming workshop, call the Flathead Job Service at 406-758-6200 and ask for someone in programs.